VOA常速英语2014--Some Multi-National Companies Ignoring Western Sanctions Against Russia 一些跨国公司不担心对俄罗斯的制裁

 

Some Multi-National Companies Ignoring Western Sanctions Against Russia 一些跨国公司不担心对俄罗斯的制裁

Western sanctions are hurting Russia’s economy.  That’s according to the country’s economic minister, who says Russia’s economic output is shrinking as investors¹ take their money elsewhere.  But some western companies are bucking² that trend - expanding business interests in Russia - even as the U.S. and European allies consider wider sanctions to punish Moscow for annexing³ Crimea and destabilizing eastern Ukraine.  

He remains⁴ a unifying⁵ figure among Russian patriots⁶, but analysts⁸ say President Vladimir Putin’s popularity could sour if the economy continues to deteriorate⁹.

弗拉基米尔·普京在俄罗斯爱国者心中仍是一个团结的形象，但分析家称如果经济继续恶化，他的受欢迎度将会骤降。

Speaking to Russian lawmakers, Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said worried investors have already pulled more than $70 billion out of the country.

经济发展部长乌卢卡耶夫对俄罗斯议员们发表讲话，他说忧虑的投资者们已经从俄罗斯经济中抽出了700多亿美元。

“We also have a high level of uncertainty¹⁰ in the global financial markets, serious capital flight, the situation when investors are not ready to make investment decisions in the tense international situation we’ve had for the past two months.  The economic situation is not stable," said Ulyukayev.

“全球金融市场的不确定性已经很高了，资本在外逃，过去两个月在这个紧张的国际局势下投资者不打算做投资，经济状况很不稳定。”

Russian stocks have lost more than ten percent since the start of the Ukraine crisis - and the ruble sits close to a five-year low against the dollar.

自乌克兰危机以来，俄罗斯股市已经跌了10%以上，卢布对美国的汇率已经接近五年来的最低点。

But even as Europe threatens wider sanctions - not all investors are prepared to abandon Russia.

但尽管欧洲威胁要加大制裁，不是所有投资者都准备放弃俄罗斯。

At a recent meeting with Putin, Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben Van Beurden announced the company's commitment to expand its operations in Russia.

最近在与普京的会谈中，荷兰皇家壳牌CEO范伯登宣布该公司准备扩大在俄罗斯的业务。

“This is a special occasion for me to visit because indeed today is our 20th anniversary of the partnership¹¹ that we have in Sakhalin Energy, a partnership that we are exceptionally proud of," said Van Beurden.

“今天是个特殊的日子，是我们在萨哈林能源投资公司合作项目的20周年纪念日，我们都为这个合作关系感到骄傲。”

It’s no surprise to investment analyst⁷ Ben Kumar who says Shell is not the only multi-national with entrenched¹² business interests in Russia’s economy.

投资分析家本·库马尔对此并不吃惊，他说在俄罗斯经济中拥有根深蒂固利益的跨国公司不止壳牌一家。

“You have this globalization now which means that everyone is linked to everyone else.  Companies like BP - all of the other major energy companies - are so multi-national that if you start to threaten to shut down trade links they will kick up a fuss," said Kumar.

“国际化意味着每个人都与其他人相关联，像BP等各个能源公司都是跨国公司，如果你威胁要关闭贸易，那么它们会大吵大闹的。”

Reuters' European editor Pierre Brancon says Western powers must be careful not to push the Russian bear to hard.

路透社欧洲编辑皮埃尔·布兰登说欧洲大国必须小心不要让俄罗斯太难过。

“You don’t wage economic war without inflicting¹³ suffering on yourself - we know that European companies are going to suffer if they go to full-blown sanctions," said Brancon.

“只要进行经济战，就是在搬起石头砸自己的脚，我们知道如果实施全面制裁，欧洲公司会遭受损失。”

That’s because Russia produces a third of the natural gas Europe needs, much of it transported through Ukrainian pipelines¹⁴.  

这是因为欧洲所需的天然气有三分之一是俄罗斯产的，很多都是经由乌克兰的管道运输的。

 

Diplomatically, it’s a delicate balancing act, one with the potential to provoke a trade war, and higher energy prices around the world.

从外交角度来说，这是个微妙的平衡，这样可能会引发贸易战，以及导致全世界能源价格上涨。

1 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

2 bucking   

v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的现在分词 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• a bucking bronco in the rodeo 牛仔竞技表演中一匹弓背跳跃的野马
• That means we'll be bucking grain bags, bustin's gut. 那就是说咱们要背这一袋袋的谷子，得把五脏都累坏。 来自辞典例句

3 annexing   

并吞( annex的现在分词 )； 兼并； 强占； 并吞（国家、地区等）

参考例句：

• In addition to annexing territory, they exacted huge indemnities. 割地之外，又索去了巨大的赔款。
• He succeeded in annexing all the property of Hindley's and the Linton's. 他成功的占有了亨得利和林顿的所有财产。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 unifying   

使联合( unify的现在分词 )； 使相同； 使一致； 统一

参考例句：

• In addition, there were certain religious bonds of a unifying kind. 此外，他们还有某种具有一种统一性质的宗教上的结合。
• There is a unifying theme, and that is the theme of information flow within biological systems. 我们可以用一个总的命题，把生物学系统内的信息流来作为这一研究主题。

6 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

7 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

8 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

9 deteriorate   

v.变坏；恶化；退化

参考例句：

• Do you think relations between China and Japan will continue to deteriorate?你认为中日关系会继续恶化吗？
• He held that this would only cause the situation to deteriorate further.他认为，这只会使局势更加恶化。

10 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

11 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

12 entrenched   

adj.确立的，不容易改的(风俗习惯)

参考例句：

• Television seems to be firmly entrenched as the number one medium for national advertising.电视看来要在全国广告媒介中牢固地占据头等位置。
• If the enemy dares to attack us in these entrenched positions,we will make short work of them.如果敌人胆敢进攻我们固守的阵地，我们就消灭他们。

13 inflicting   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm. 他被控蓄意严重伤害他人身体。
• It's impossible to do research without inflicting some pain on animals. 搞研究不让动物遭点罪是不可能的。

14 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。